Cornet



Patented Feb. 6, 1923.

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CORNET.

Application filed August 30, 1921.

10 @ZZ whom t may concern.

Be it known that l, GinnANno Courriscmni, a citizen oi the United States, and a resident oi the city ot New York, borough of Manl ittan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Cornet, of which the ifollowing is a speciiication.

The present invention relates to a musical instrument and more particularly to a wind instrument oit. the type of c-ornets and similar instruments.

ln the common type of cornets the effective length of the tube or tone column. is changed to produce changes in pitchtor intervals or' the scale, by by-passing or inserting in the tube. tube sections oli appropriate length. rhese tube sections are usually of the form of bends or crooks the end of which connect with valve chambers in which are positioned hollow slidable pistons having ports tor interconnecting the various crooks or bends in a manner governed by the positions of the various valves or pistons. Valve or piston instruments of this type are, however, interior to, or diierent in their tone or tone effects from instruments in which the changes in tone are produced by means of slides. However, the use of slides in cornets and similar instruments in place of the common piston devices has heretofore not proven satisfactory in practice. owing largely to the difficulty of providing slides and actuating means suiliciently convenient and responsive to enable them to be operated with the desired ease and fagility.

An object of the present invention is to provide a compact and easily operated musical wind instrument in which changes in tone intervals are produced by the operation oit suitable slides.

Another object ot the invention is to provide a musical wind instrument of simple construction in which the tone intervals of the scale are obtained by the movement ot' slides arranged to be moved relatively unequal distances by a substantially uniform movement of the operating keys.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a cornet or similar instrument having a key arrangement similar' to that of the ordinary cornet, and adapted to produce the various notes of the scale by suitable slides actuated by said keys.

Serial No. 496,912.

With these and other objects in view the invention comprises the musical wind instrument described in the following specification and deined in the claims.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanyingr drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a cornet embodying a preferred form of the invention, parts of the instrument being broken away to more clearly show the slide operating mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the cornet shown in Fig. 1, a portion of the instrument being shown broken away to more clearly show the slide operating mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and,

Fig. 4 is a detailed view oi' a portion of the key mechanism.

In the present invention the instrument is formed of a number of ixed tube sections which are alternately connected at their opposite ends b v means of slides telesc-oping in said sections to form a single connected tube. 'The various tones of the scale are produced by reciprocating the slides in the fixed tube sections, the degree of reciprocation of individual slides being adjusted to produce different changes in pitch corresponding to the diiierent tone intervals. The movement or' the slides is obtained by means of a key and lever mechanism positioned on the fixed tube sections intermediate of or between opposite slices in a position similar to the keys or pistons of the ordinary cornet. The lever mechanisms of the different sets of slides and keys are proportioned to give the desired degree ot unequal movement of the slides for a uniform movement of the keys.

Referrin more particularly to the accompanying drawings the tube portion of the cornet is composed of a number ot' sections 1() in the form illustrated, four fixed in a substantially parallel relation with each other by suitable braces or other connecting means and connected in succession by means ot movable slides 12, 14 and 1G each pair ot tubes being connected. together at one end only and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end orp said tube and the other slide at the other end ot said tube, to iform a single continuous tube extending from a mouth-piece 18 to a bell 20. The slides 12, 14 and 16 extend within the tilted tube portions 10 in a telescopic relation and freely slide or reciprocate outwardly and inwardly in the lined tube sections for relatively different distances adjusted to produce the desired tone interval.

The movement ot the slides 12, 14 and 16 is obtained through the operation 01"' corresponding keys 22, 24 and 26 preferably mounted in a frame 28 carried by means of supporting arms 29 on the fixed tube sections 10 in substantially or approximately the positionnormally occupied by the pistons or keys in the ordinary type of cornet. rlhe pistons are normally held in their-uppermost position by means of springs 30, 82 and 84, which surround guides 86, 38 and 40 for the keys and are confined between a lower edge 42 of the frame 28 and collars 44, 46 and 48 carried on the stems of the pistons 22, 24 and 26 respectively.

When the keys 22, 24 and 26 are depressed the corresponding movement is transmitted to the slides 12, 14 and 16 by means oi' lever mechanisms arranged to give the desired movement. To this end the collars 44, 46 and 48 are connected by means of connecting links 50, 52 and 54 respectively to arms 56, 58 and 60 of bell ycrank levers 62, 64 and 66 which are pivoted on the lower part of the frame 28. The other arms 68, and 72 of the bell crank levers are pivotally connected by means of rods or links 74, 76 and 78 to the slides 14, 12 and 16 respectively. The position of the bell crank lever 62 is the reverse of the levers 64 and 66 and the levers operate in such a manner that as the keys 22, 24 and 26 are depressed the corresponding levers are rotated to move the slides 14, 12 and 16 outwardly from the fixed tube sectionsr of the cornet. lhen the keys are released they are returned to their upper position by means of the springs 80, 32 and 84 and the slides are again withdrawn into the fixed tube sections.

ln the normal operation of the instrument the keys 22, 24 and 26 are depressed toy substantially equal distances as in an ordinary cornet. The relation between the lever arms oic the bell crank levers 62, 64 and 66 is, however, such that for an equal displacement or movement. of the keys there is an unequal movement of the tubes for each movement of the keys, the length olii the movement o'l` each slide being adjusted to produce the different tone intervals of the scale. This is accomplished by having the lever arms 56, 58 and 60 of equal, or substantially equal, lengths and making the arms 68, 70 and 72 ot unequaly lengths and proportional to the lengths of movement of the slides or connecting` tubes. Thus, in the particular embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the arm 68 is longer than the arm 72 and the arm 72 is klonger thsnthe arm 76. The keys may of course be operated in units ment.

laziness of 2 or 3 in the usual manner to produce a greater' extension ot the effective length of the tube for the production of tone intervals not obtained by the movement of individual slides. The operation ot the keys is preterably arranged so that the different tones of the scale are produced by the same fingering as in the ordinary piston cornet.

rlhe degree to which the slides are moved toward the tube sections is, however, subject to the control of the player who may decrease the throw of the lever mechanism by depressing` the keys 22, 24 and 26 to less thantheir lowermost position. ln a similar manner all three keys may be interconnected by means of a notched plate 80 shown in detail in Fig. 4 having notches 82, which tit corresponding grooves 84 in the keys 22--26 l,When the plate 84 is in position on the keys 22-26 all three keys are moved simultaneously and the dillerent tone intervals are obtained by depressing the keys to a greater or less extent.

To permit the instrument to be tuned, the ends ot the rods 74, 76 and 78 are threaded as at 86 and are connected to the slides 12, 14 and 16 by means of nuts 88l threaded on the rods 74-7 8 and enclosing ears 90 mounted on the respective slides. Through this arrangement the effective length of the rods 74-7 8 may be adjusted to tune the instrument.

Through the above described invention a cornet or similar musical instrument is provided in which the various tone intervals may be obtained by operating keys arranged in a .similar position and relation as in the ordinary cornet thereby avoiding the necessity oi' changes in lingering in changing from the old to the present instrument. The tone of the instrument is entirely under the control oi the player and the desirable tone cilects of a slide instrument are obtained. A further control of the operation ot the playing of the instrument is also obtained throngh the interconnection and partial movement of the several keys to give notes not obtainable by an ordinary piston instrulnstruments may, according to the present invention, also have the advantages of greater simplicity and ease in manufacture and are less liable to get out of order and out or tune. lt is obvious that a larger number oli slides and pistons may be used than those shown in the drawings and that other changes in the form of embodiment ot the invention may be made without departing` from the broader' Yfeatures of the invention.

llaving thus described my invention what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A musical wind instrument having in combination iixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said t: Il

tubes in succession, each pair olf tubes being connected together at one end only and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end of said tube and. the other slide at the other end of said tube, and means positioned intermediate said slides arranged to move?` said slides independently on said fixed tube sections.

2. In a musical wind instrument the combination of fixed substantially straight parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tubes in succession, each pair of tubes being connected together at one end only and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end of' said tube and the other slide at the other end of' said tube, and a mechanism positioned intermediate opposite slides for independently moving said slides relatively unequal distances.

3. A musical wind instrument having in combination fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tubes in succession, each pair of tubes being connected together at one end only and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end of said tube and the other slide at the other end of said tube, keys positioned intermediate said opposite slides and mechanism operated by said keys for independently moving said slides.

4. In a musical wind instrument the combination of fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tubes in succession, each pair of tubes being connected together at one end only and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end of said tube and the other slide at the other end of said tube, a frame work mounted intermediate said opposite slides and mechanism mounted on said frame work for moving said slides individuaily.

In a musical wind instrument, the combination oit fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides arranged alternately at opposite ends of said tube sections and connecting said tube sections in succession, keys mounted transversely of said fixed tube sections and means connecting said keys to said slides to operate said slides individually.

(i. In a musical wind instrument the combiliatiou of fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tubes in succession, each pair of tubes being connected together at one end only and two successive slides being,r connected to any one end only, and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end of said tube and the other slide at the other end of said tube, operating mechanism for individually moving said slides, and connecting rods between said operating mechanism and said slides to reciprocate in substantial alignment with the movement of said slides.

7. In a musical wind instrument, the coinbination of fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tube sections, operating keys movable transversely of said fixed tube sections, bell crank levers, connecting links between the levers at one of their ends and the keys and connecting links between the levers at the other of their ends and the slides.

8. A musical wind instrument having in combination a tube portion formed of fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections and connecting slides telescopically slidable on said fixed sections, a frame mounted on said fixed tube sections, keys mounted on said frame and a lever mechanism connecting said keys individually to said slides to move said slides relatively unequal distances upon a uniform movement of said keys.

9. In a musical wind instrument having in combination a tube portion formed of fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections and connecting slides telescopically slidable on said fixed sections, a frame mounted on said fixed tube sections, keys mounted on said frame transversely of said fixed tube sections, bell crank levers pivoted on said frame, connecting means between the levers at one of their ends and the keys and connecting means between the levers at the other of their ends and the slides.

10. A musical wind instrument having in combination fixed substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tubes in succession, each pair of tubes being connected together at one end only and two successive slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end of said tube and the other slide at the other end of said tube, operating means positioned intermediate said slides to move said slides independently on said fixed tube sections and means for interconnecting said operating means to cause said slides to move in unison.

11. A musical wind instrument having in combination substantially straight, parallel tube sections, slides connecting said tubes in succession, each pair of tubes being connected together at one end only and two successve slides being connected to any one tube, one slide at one end ot said tube and the other slide at the other end of said tube, keys positioned intermediate said successive slides. mechanism operated by said keys for individually moving said slides and means for interconnecting said. keys to cause said keys and slides to move in unison.

12. In a musical wind instrument, -the ing links between the levers at one of their ends and the keys and Connecting links between the levers at the other of their ends and the slides and means for adjusting the elieetve length of said last named links loetween Seial slides and sacllever ends.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand t the borough of Manhattan, city and State of New York7 this 29 clay of Aug.. 1921.

GIRLANDO CONTRSCIANLk In presence of* W. T. COLEMAN. 

